The easiest way around metropolitan Boston is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Association or as most people know it, the T. This includes the light-rail and commuter rail trains, heavy rail trains (also known as the subway), and buses. Averaging just under 1.3 million riders per weekday, the T needs to be an efficient transportation system. A big part of this requires that fare vending is intuitive for riders and an overall efficient process.
Automatic fare vending machines (AFVs) were introduced in Boston just over 10 years ago in 2006. The original intention of this was to cut out a lot of time trains spent at subway stops manually collecting fares from each individual rider. At the heart of it, these machines should be easy to use and allow the riders to buy fares efficiently. I'll be analyzing the experience of using these machines to purchase fares for the T to see if the process needs to be improved and if so, how?